(TNND) — President Donald Trump warned Iranian dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the United States would take military action against the regime if civilians protesting are hanged.

“I haven’t heard about the hanging. If they hang ’em, you’re gonna see some things that — I don’t know what you’re — where you come from and what your thought process is, but you’ll perhaps be very happy,” Trump told “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil on Tuesday.

Doukoupil asked Trump to explain what exact steps the United States would take if it was discovered that civilians were being executed.

“If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action,” Trump said.

Trump told Doukoupil that the United States’ taking “strong action” against the Iranian regime would include similar measures taken against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani.

“Well, let’s define it in Venezuela,” Trump said. “Let’s define it with al Baghdadi. He was wiped out. Let’s define it with Soleimani, and let’s define it in Iran, where [the US military] wiped out the Iran nuclear threat in a period of about 15 minutes once the B-2s got there.”

Civilians began protesting in cities across Iran in late December last year in response to an economic downturn, coinciding with a drastic depreciation of Iranian currency and a rise in consumer prices.

This recent wave of protests rivals the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which led to the installation of the Ayatollah.

Since the protests began, more than 2,600 people have been arrested and an estimated 12,000 people have been killed, according to CBS News based upon sources within Iran.

“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen,” Trump said. “And, you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing. When they start killing thousands of people — and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

Although there have been no known records of hangings in Iran yet, the nation is currently facing an internet blackout, making it nearly impossible to relay information of the protests outside of the country. However, CBS News reported on Wednesday that Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian store owner is being detained by the Islamic Republican based on accusations that he participated in the protests, but his lawyer said the government has provided no evidence of this occurring. His family received noticed that he was facing a death sentence.